The Pains of Having a Conscience
by MyOwnLittleWorld
Summary: When Harry goes on vacation with the Weasleys he learns a few things about one certain redhead, a certain redhead learns a few things about him, and if he's lucky, maybe he can learn something about himself. All in all, it'll be one educational summer.
1. You Never Know With Muggles

**Disclaimer: The Characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this fic are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.**

_Author's Notes: This fic is just a fun little story I've been dying to write, I'm pretty sure it'll get finished, but it's not going to have a ton of plot/action adventure or anything. Mostly fluff, I'm thinking. Mostly Harry/Ginny with some Ron/Hermione thrown in, of course. (o; I'm also looking for a beta reader, someone who's good at finding the little mistakes and can get it back to me fairly quickly. E-mail me at hkampfmac.com. (EDIT: Beta reader found) The more reviews I get, the faster I update. _

_Hiya Harry,_

_Guess what? We're going on vacation! The five of us are leaving as soon as you and Hermione get here. I'm not allowed to tell exactly when or where in case this gets intercepted, but it should be sometime soon. Well, I've got to go pack, but I'll be seeing you soon, I expect. _

_Ron_

_P.S. Mum just yelled for me to make sure you pack sunscreen. _

Harry folded the letter in half and lay it under his loose floorboard, mind reeling. This was the last thing he had been expecting after his fifth year. He'd thought that they would be spending the rest of the summer at Grimwauld Place, or the Burrow if he was lucky, but on vacation? The last time he'd been on vacation was when the Dursleys had been forced to take him along to Disneyworld in the United States, which had hardly qualified as fun; while Dudley was riding on roller coasters and swimming in water parks, Harry had spent a miserable trip which alternated between watching Dudley from the ground and spending sweltering hours locked in the bathroom at the hotel. He had to admit, a vacation with the Weasleys sounded a heck of a lot better, but it just didn't make sense to be leaving the country when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were needed by the Order more than ever. And why only five of them? Pondering the letter thoughtfully, Harry finally slid into a sleep of restless dreams and unanswered questions.

The next few days crawled by, and Harry's restless anticipation only made it seem longer. After the last 'conversation' with the Members of the Order, the Dursleys had once again took up the practice of ignoring him, unless speaking was completely unavoidable.   
When this happened they would look the opposite direction of Harry while they spoke to the wall in forcefully polite, clipped tones.

"I'm leaving to go to the Weasley's." Harry announced at breakfast in a raspy voice; he hadn't talked to anyone but Hedwig since school ended.

Uncle Vernon chewed his toast for as long as he could manage before grunting something inaudible.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," Harry said loudly.

"Will you be needing a ride anywhere?" he forced out, which must have taken every ounce of effort he possessed.

"No, they're picking me up."

The thought of them coming back into the house after what had happened before had a worse effect than the thought of giving Harry a ride. Aunt Petunia paled a few shades while Uncle Vernon did exactly the opposite, coming to a rest at a deep magenta.

"That's fine," he finally choked, his forehead creasing as he forced the words out.

Harry knew that the Weasleys would probably not attempt Floo Powder after the last time, but he wasn't about to tell them that. Smiling for the first time in a long while, he started to head back to his room, but was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell. Or rather, rings of the doorbell. That was enough for Harry.

"I'll get it," he called, turning around and dashing to the sound. He opened it, and nearly knocked over a tall, red-haired figure, who was ringing the doorbell repeatedly.

"Once would have been plenty," Harry grinned, clapping Ron on the back as he helped him up.

"Well, you never know with Muggle things. How are you?"

Harry's eyes lost a tiny bit of their light as he considered the question. "I'm alright, I guess. You want to come in?" He motioned inside, and abruptly noticed who else was standing there. "Oh, hi Ginny, how are you?"

"I'm pretty good."

An awkward silence followed for a second as the events at the Department of Mysteries came back to him, and all of the sudden he noticed the slight limp in Ginny's step and deep scars in Ron's arms. He had almost forgotten what he'd done to them, and suddenly what he had been waiting for all summer seemed tense and wrong, and a part of him wished the doorbell had never rung. Turning around, he motioned for them to follow as he stepped back inside, trying to mask his emotions.

"How'd you get here?" he finally said, to fill up the blank space.

"We flood to Mrs. Figg's house, since that was the only way Mum would let us get you without the whole Order coming with," Ginny said after they'd walked past the kitchen and the Dursley's suspicious eyes.

Harry nodded before asking, "So, could you fill me in on this trip?"

Ron seemed to brighten as he started to talk. "Well, Mum and Dad are all concerned about our safety now that the Death Eaters are getting so active, so Mum decided to take us out of the country for a while until school starts. Dad can't go, but it'll probably be awhile before he can leave anywhere, so they figured it was better to do it this way. I feel kinda bad though, they've been saving for ages to go to Costa Rica, and now he has to stay here and work."

Harry nodded again as he grabbed his bag. "Costa Rica? When are we leaving?

"Tomorrow, as soon as Hermione comes. She's coming to the Burrow tonight. She's flooing over from her house, do you think that's okay? Maybe someone should pick her up, she might not be used to flooing alone. I think one of us should check on her, what do you think?" Ron continued on a long rant about Hermione's safety as Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry.

"Try actually listening to this. Then try listening to this all summer. Oh, the torture." Ginny whispered dramatically with a bright smile. He hadn't really taking the time to look before, but she really did have a great smile. _She's a very pretty girl" _an annoying little voice at the back of his mind squeaked. ÔShe's also your very best friend's sister. Make that your very best friend's sister with a boyfriend,' Harry argued with the voice to himself_. ÔSo?' _ÔSo? Don't you have a conscience?' Harry tried to think louder, but it didn't work. Apparently his brain didn't have a volume switch._ÔI am your conscience, you idiot. Have a problem with that?' _Harry rolled his eyes and pretended to ignore the voice. Suddenly having a conscience was one thing. Having a conscience that talked in a loud squeaky voice, disagreed with you, and tried to persuade you to do the opposite of right was just plain weird.

"Ready to go?" Ron asked, hoisting part of Harry's luggage over his shoulder.

"Yep," Harry answered. If nothing else, this would certainly be an interesting summer.

A/N II: I updated this and did html to make the conscience in italics, kay? I know you're probably going to read this and think I have horrible grammar (mostly end punctuation) but when I do html it pulls out some of my letters and symbols, especially quotes. I try my best to fix them with the quick edit, but some of the mistakes won't go away. Sorry about that. (o:


	2. Escaping Mrs Figg

**Disclaimer: The Characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this fic are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Mrs. Figg might know about the Order, Albus Dumbledore, and Chocolate Frogs, but that didn't mean she wasn't a little off the wall, Harry thought decidedly. That summer she had invited him over for tea a grand total of twenty three times, and that wasn't counting the six times she had stopped by the Dursley's house to bring cakes to show her condolences for Sirius. Whenever she did this she would make a big show of acting sneaky and throwing rocks at Harry's window to get his attention. At first Harry was glad to be in contact with someone who knew the magical world, but he soon realized that trying to extract information was as hard as making conversation with Aunt Petunia about Dementors. Completely useless, and more than a little irritating.

"Have you heard from Dumbledore lately?" Harry had asked eagerly the first time he had seen her that summer.

"Oh, now never mind that now. Let's talk about something a little more interesting, shall we? Mr. Tibbles caught the largest mouse yesterday, he brought it right up to the doorstep as a present to me, now isn't that sweet? He's growing up to be such a good kitty, and..."

Needless to say, he hadn't been back for a while.

Ginny knocked on the door, and Harry could hear Mrs. Figg mumbling as she came to answer. She opened it a crack and peered through before letting them in.

"Oh, it's just you three. I thought it was dear old Snowflake, coming back from his walk. Harry, so nice to see you again! I thought you'd forgotten me, I've hardly seen you all summer. Come in, come in."

They stepped inside, and were just heading for the fireplace when Mrs. Figg stopped them.

"Oh, come on now, won't you have some cookies or cake?" She asked, waving the plate around in what looked like a menacing way to Harry. Or maybe it just looked menacing because he had experienced Mrs. Figg's baking before, and had found it something similar to Hagid's, but with the strange aftertaste of cabbage. He had given five of the six cakes to the Dursleys, which might look like an act of kindness until you made the mistake of trying them.

"That sound's grea--" Ron began.

"Great, but we really have to be going. Thanks anyways," Harry cut him off hesitantly.

"Are you sure? Oh, alright then. Have a nice time, and be sure to visit me when you're back, Harry."

"How could I forget," Harry muttered before throwing his Floo Powder in the fireplace.

Five minutes later, Harry had been greeted by just about every Weasley in the

Burrow-- except one.

"Percy," Harry said tersely, reaching out to shake his hand. He hadn't been expecting this, and he thought that Ron could have had the decency to tell him. All at once, he heard the high pitched nagging in his brain. _'Oh bloody hell, not that one again. Oooh, I want to punch him. Not too hard, I mean. Just a little punch. I wouldn't break anything important, maybe just his nose'_' the voice in his head came back._After everything he's done to you, that would be fair.' _Shut up,' Harry told it firmly. He was so close to doing just that that he really didn't need encouragement.

"Shake his hand," Fred and George hissed, shoving Percy rather forcefully at Harry. Percy shook. Tense silence followed, as Harry glared at Percy and Percy glared at the twins.

"We'd better bring your bags up," Fred finally said, hoisting one on a dragon-skin clad shoulder while George took the other. Harry and Ron followed them up, taking Hedwig's cage along with them.

"Sorry for not telling you, mate. Guess it just never came up," Ron said, not looking at Harry. Harry opened his mouth to say something back, but changed his mind. He had wasted enough time last summer yelling at his friends, and he didn't want to do it again. He'd caused enough damage already.

"Forget it."

Ron smiled thankfully as they stepped inside his room to a blast of blinding orange. "Thanks. Hermione should be here soon, don't you think. It's seven minutes until five, now six..."

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "Ron, just a suggestion, but maybe if you took breaks in between your speeches about Hermione the twins wouldn't give you such a hard time about it, you know? Besides, when did this happen? I mean, you always have talked about Hermione, but not this much."

Ron blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yep." Harry didn't see the point in softening the truth. "Really, really obvious."

"Oh," Ron sighed. "That's not a good thing, I 'spose. Anyways, speaking of girls, who do you like?" He hastily changed the subject of the conversation around.

"I'm not positive right now" Harry said truthfully.

"Alright, who do you think you might like? Give me a hint, mate.

"Erm... she has brown eyes?" Harry said, more of a question than a statement. Red hair might be a bit of a giveaway.

"Well that narrows it down to about half the girls in Hogwarts," Ron replied sarcastically.

"Look, I'll tell you later. I'm not sure what you'll think right now."

"Fine. Do y' think Hermione's here yet?" Ron asked, glancing at his watch and heading downstairs.

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, grateful for the first square meal he'd had in a month. Mrs. Weasley had outdone herself again, preparing everything from mouth-watering mashed potatoes and steaming soup to warm pie and trifle. It would have been perfect, if there hadn't been one thing nagging at him. Percy. They hadn't said a word to each other since their cold meeting, but Harry noticed he wasn't the only one. Ron was practically ignoring him, and the twins and Ginny were hardly better. Still, he left supper discontented, and not even seeing Hermione again could make the feeling go away.

Harry creaked down the last step and padded softly to the kitchen. He hadn't been able to sleep, and a cup of hot cocoa was usually the only thing that helped. He had just finished boiling water when he noticed a red-haired figure sitting on the couch. It was Ginny. She was sipping from a mug in front of the fire, and Harry was just wondering what to do when she motioned him over. He tried to walk carefully, but some of the liquid sloshed over the edge as he tripped on his too-big pajama bottom hand-me-downs.

"Looks like we have the exact opposite problem," she smiled, motioning at her own pajamas, which came just below her knee.

"Yeah," he said. Brilliant answer, really. If she ever liked him again, it certainly wouldn't be for his brains.

"Couldn't sleep?" she questioned, nodding at the stairwell.

"Yeah. Whenever I couldn't sleep at the Dursley's, I'd go and make some hot cocoa. It kind of makes you feel better, y' know? I always used to pretend that my parents were there, and it was them making it for me. Then they'd always ask me what was wrong, and I could talk to them and imagine what their answers would be if they were there" Harry trailed off, and realized who he was talking to and jumped, spilling more on his shirt. He definitely should have stuck with the typical 'yeah'.' He hadn't done something like that in ages, and now Ginny probably thought he was an over-dramatic baby. He looked away in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"Why?

"Just forget it."

"Fine, Harry, but you need to know something. You might think that everyone'll think less of you if you never talk about what's on your mind, but if you do than you're very wrong and very stupid. You don't have your real family, but we're pretty damn close to one. You aren't alone, and don't you dare forget that Harry Potter," Ginny brought her voice from dangerously cool to neutral as she calmly sipped her tea. "By the way, Percy asked me to give this to you," Ginny pulled a folded note from her front flannel pocket. "About time he apologized, the prat.

Harry took the note from her, still a little stunned from the turn the conversation had taken. As he walked back up to the bedroom, he still had the strange feeling that he had lost part of himself to Ginny when he shared the memory of his childhood.

The even stranger thing was that he wasn't sure he minded.

**A/N: Hmm I'm not very happy about this chapter, but I hope it was long enough to make up for all of the out-of-characterness. The next chappie should have the actual "vacation" part of the vacation. (o: I know not a ton of stuff is happening right now, but gimme a couple more chapters before you tell me it's "meandering aimlessly," k? I'm really scared of reviews that say that. Also, the strange indentions and punctuation is still mostly the html's fault. I know, it's driving me nuts too.**

**REVIEWERS: (8 reviews! Wow! Thank you so much!)**

**HermioneGreen: Thank you, I hope it lives up to your expectations. (o: **

**Baseballkid: You love it? Wow. (o: Thank you so much. I'll try to keep it going, it'll probably go even faster once my teachers realize that I DO have a life besides school and homework.**

**Melindaleo: Have I ever told you that I love your username? Neways. Thanks for your review, I get so excited when I get a review like yours. (o: I love criticism too, but somehow it's just not the same. And I'm also so glad you like my angstÉ I'll throw some in here or there just for you.**

**Anna: I love the review! Also, thanks for the great beta-ing, I really appreciate it.**

**Ami-gryffindor89: Thank you, you're still my most thankful reviewer, you know. (o: Would you mind beta-ing every other chappie, starting with the next one? I'd luv it. I'm also waiting for your updatesÉ tick, tock, tick, tock**

**Jamiebell(): Thank you, when I first planned this there wasn't even a conscience in the story, but then this squeaky voice just started writing itself in and I didn't have much of a choice in the matter **

**Miss Effie: Thanks for your reviews on all of my stories, they were very helpful. (o: I know what you mean about the italics, I actually had them in but then the bleep html wouldn't work for me at all so I had to switch back to .doc, which is kind of a bummer. Thanks again. (EDIT: ITALICS ATTEMPTED ::again::)**


	3. The Competition

**Disclaimer: The Characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this fic are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: Okay, I always thought of myself as fairly speedy on the updates, but I just realized that it's almost been a month (a MONTH!) since I've updated. Strangely enough, this was very easy to write, but then I looked at it and went snore. So I rewrote it, and still wasn't satisfied. So I decided to skip ahead a bit and fill you in later on the blank spots, k? Right now, they made it to Costa Rica.**

Harry Potter tossed and turned restlessly in his bed, but for once it wasn't because of nightmares. No, the reason he wasn't sleeping was the heat, a rooster who felt that morning was 4:30 A.M., the occasional Plunk! Of a coconut as it fell off the tree over their cabin roof, and Ron, who was in the bunk above him and kept snoring and muttering things like "Air conditioning" and "I surrender," whenever a particularly large piece of fruit fell. The last straw was when Ron rolled out of the bunk bed and onto the strategically placed pillows below, managing to pull the feat off perfectly _without _ever stopping his monotonous snoring.

Sighing, Harry climbed out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and nearly tripped over Ginny, who must have also fallen out of the bottom bunk and was now sleeping with her face pressed against the wood floor. 'Must be a Weasley thing,'' he thought to himself, starting to walk out the door.

_That's it? You're just going to leave her there? _

'What am I supposed to do?'' Harry answered back angrily.

_ Well, perhaps a pillow or a blanket would be nice, you know, try acting like a gentleman. _It answered in the tone that implied Harry was mentally retarded.

Harry thought it was somewhat rich for the person (or whatever it was) who had been convincing him to take a swing at one of the Weasleys to tell him to act like a gentleman. 'Well sooooorry, I didn't mean to act _inconsiderate _or anything, we wouldn't want to _offend_ anyone, especially by not giving someone a blanket when it's only ninety degrees outside,' he replied, frowning as he lifted up Ginny's head to put a pillow under it. As soon as he had finished, he rushed out of the cabin, feeling like he'd convicted some sort of crime.

Stepping outside, his grumpiness subsided for the most part. Although it was missing Air Conditioners (which were somewhat vital, in Harry's opinion) Paradisio Resort still was about a million notches up from staying with the Dursleys. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all staying in one cabin, with Mrs. Weasley sleeping in an attached room. Outside, there was a volleyball net next to the beach and dining area next to a whole shelf full of used paperback books in about six different languages. Without anything better to do Harry headed towards the books, although the bench was already occupied.

"Hello, Harry," Hermione said absentmindedly, trimly rolling up a scroll that was on the table. "Fancy a glass of juice? The owner just brought it to me, and I can't drink the whole thing myself." she motioned towards a pitcher.

"Sure," he answered, sitting next to her. "Who're you writing?

Hermione glanced around, as though checking to see that nobody was listening in. "Victor, but I didn't want Ron to see--he's so moody about him, and I didn't want to get in a row the first day here.

Harry nodded, filling his glass. "Yeah, it's still a bit of a touchy subject. Did I ever tell you that I found Ron's Krum figurine torn apart underneath his bed?"

Hermione gave him a shocked look. "I can't believe Ron would do that!" then she thought about what she was saying. "Actually, maybe I can. That's Ron."

"What's Ron?" Ron stumbled towards them, pulling on a sneaker. "What can't you believe I'd do?"

"Fall out of your bunkbed," Harry said smoothly. It was too early for arguing.

"Mmm. I see. What's for breakfast?"

"Hopefully rooster," Harry said, and he almost laughed. Almost.

"Mmm... Stuffed with coconuts."

"Yuck. But yeah, it would be satisfying," Harry said.

Hermione started to make disapproving noises at them, probably something to do with the rooster comment, and then stopped mid-sniff as she remembered something more important. She pulled a crisply folded piece of paper out of her short pockets.

"Jorge--"

_Jorge? _Ron asked, stifling laughter. "Planning on starting a club for donkey rights anytime soon? H.O.R.H.A.Y--. Helping to

Hermione cut him off cleanly mid-sentence. "Haha, very funny. As I was saying, Horhay, the owner, gets most of the staff together and has some competitions and races and things whenever there's enough guests at the resort. I signed us up for a few things, have a look," she handed the yellow sheet to Harry, who skimmed over it.

"Three legged race, volleyball tournament, obstacle course, and the sack race? What are we, five-year-olds?

"I thought it sounded like a nice idea." Hermione took a deep breath. "Anyway, have you ever thought that maybe what we need is to act like five-year-olds once in awhile? It just seems like we get so caught up in everything that's happening that we forget to have fun, you know?"

"Yeah, look who's talking, Miss "We-have-to-do-our-homework-and-spew-duties-_before_-we-play-exploding-snap," Ron said.

"I don't think she means homework, Ron."

"Yeah. I know," Ron's grin left his face for an instant, and Harry caught a glimpse of someone he rarely saw in him; a boy who was tired, who had been running to keep up with the world for a long time, but could never catch it. And he had to keep going, because if he stopped then everything he'd been working for for years would be gone, and he would never catch up again.

Harry stopped analyzing Ron as he realized that it wasn't only his feelings he'd been analyzing; he'd been thinking of his own. Only, in his case, if he stopped running it could be the downfall of the wizarding world.

"You're right. It's not like we've anything better do, anyway," he said finally.

"Besides," Ron grabbed the paper from Hermione. "We can save a whale," he waved his hand at the endnote, which indicated that half of the proceedings would go to a wildlife fund. Hermione gave them a teary smile and pulled them both into a hug. For once, Harry hugged her back, although he had to stifle a sneeze as he was engulfed in Hermione's ever-bushy hair.

He finished his juice, feeling determined. He _would_ have fun. He _would_.

**A/N: Argh, I know I'm horrible to make this short after making you wait so long, but the creative juices are starting to flow a little better nowÉ **

**Also, I just wanted to tell you that quite a bit of the stuff that's happened (and will keep happening) in these chapters happened to me (We were woken up every morning by coconuts and a rooster we all wanted to murder, it was HORRIBLY hot, I came dangerously close to falling off my (very high) bunk bed, and the part-time owner was named Horhay.) I'll do all of the review thank-yous next chapter, which will come VERY VERY SOON in order to make up for this one. I'll also be rewriting the previous chapters, I always end up looking at my stories later and think WHAT was I THINKING? This includes taking out the extendable ears scene, which doesn't help out with the plot a whole lot. **

**Another note, would you please tell me if you prefer html with some symbols and letters missing, or would you rather using ---s instead of italics?**

**P.S. I have a story that I need a beta for read about it in my bio and email me if you're interested (sorry for the long author's notes)**


	4. The Weasleys Conquer

Disclaimer: The Characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this fic are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stood in a circle as they adjusted their Team Name stickers on their robes. Hermione thought that having a name would give them a feeling of "making it official" and create "unity" among the group. This almost made him laugh, since it had been the exact same argument she had made the previous year when they had first started the D.A. But it was just plain stupid to argue with what would inevitably happen some way or another, so with a small sigh he had obliged and scribbled "Team Hogwarts," in his messy scrawl. Nobody else had the faintest idea how they had thought up the name; the native Costa Ricans and everybody else who hadn't been to Britain (who could read) thought it was an "English thing" and the few who _were _from England decidedly said it was a ''teenage thing'.'' Nobody bothered to correct them.

The event for they had first was the three-legged race, Jorge announced after everyone had settled down. Everyone began sorting themselves into pairs, although the four of them stood around awkwardly. Harry knew who he wanted to be with, but he disregarded the possibility immediately. It would be awkward, and, he wasn't sure if he wanted another chance to embarrass himself. Ron looked like he was thinking the same about Hermione, but nobody made a move. Suddenly, Ginny broke the tension.

"So, how about it big Bro? Time for the Weasleys to conquer again?" Ginny grinned.

Ron looked crestfallen for a moment, and then a look of eager determination crossed his face. "Too right, lil' sis. Shall we?" Ron picked up the two of the pieces of string they'd been given and began tying his left and her right together.

"Well, if those two are on a team together they haven't got a prayer. Looks like it's up to us to bring in the ribbon, eh Hermione?" Harry made his voice bright and cheerful, as if there was nothing he'd rather be doing in the world than this particular race. Hermione lit up as she began tying their own legs. He felt surprised for a second, turning over how happy he could make someone just by acting cheerful himself. It was a strange feeling, and he suddenly felt more regretful then ever for being so moody his last year.

Jorge held his whistle up to his lips and gave it a loud blow. Everyone jumped in shock for a moment, not expecting the whistle so soon--except Ron and Ginny. With a deafening war cry, they began at high speed, taking only a split second to synchronize their paces. Harry stared at them in amazement for a second before Hermione hissed in his ear and they began stumbling towards the finish line. They didn't seem to be well-matched; although he wasn't close to Ron's height, he still towered over Hermione, and their legs couldn't seem to find the same speed. He couldn't help but wonder how Ron's lanky form and Ginny's petite frame managed to work together so well. After tripping over themselves twice, and lots of muttered tips on a successful race from Hermione, they collapsed over the finish line, just managing to tie with an elderly German couple who hobbled over the mark in the sand second-to-last.

"Ah, so here's the legendary pair who was supposedly all set to bring in the ribbon for our team," Ron laughed and crumpled a Fresca Soda can in his hand just as Ginny popped the tab on her own.

"Where's the soda?" He asked, his throat dry.

"That would be winner's privilege. There's some water in the dispenser." Ron motioned to the shade underneath a palm tree, where Hermione was milking the last of the water in the dispenser for all it was worth. Harry watched her helplessly as the last remaining drop fell into her paper cup and let out a small sigh. Ginny lifted her can to her lips and then pulled it back as she noticed the last of the water being drunk.

"I haven't actually drank from mine yet, you can have some if you're willing to risk the cooties." The corners of her mouth turned up.

_''It's almost like she's challenging you, don't you think? If you don't take the soda you're a weakling.That's what she's saying by offering it to you.''' _"I'm sure." Harry said sarcastically. "And I suppose that's also the polite thing to do in your twisted mind,"' He added. _Mmm. Well, fine. Don't take the soda. You'll just have to wait ten minutes or so for them to bring out more water. But I guess that's a fine price to pay to have white teeth.' _

At the thought of waiting ten minutes before drinking anything Harry's perspective changed. "If you honestly don't mind, I'm dying of thirst." He said. Nobody in their right minds would call him a wimp now. Ginny handed him the soda, and Harry deep drink, relishing the fact that her lips had been on the exact same place a second before. He handed it back.

"Thanks," he muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed although he wasn't sure why.

"No problemo. Let's see, what do we have next." She pulled out a paper and ran her finger down the list. "There wasn't enough room for us in the sack race, so we're in the scavenger hunt instead, but that's tomorrow. It looks all we have today is the Volleyball Tournament, and that's not for a half-hour. I'm going to go cool off in the ocean, anyone want to join me?" Nobody said anything, so she handed Harry the rest of her soda and dashed off, pausing to pull off her clothes to reveal a sky-blue tankini before she dove into the ocean.

Harry slipped into a hammock suspended between two palm trees and watched her as he savored the coolness of the can he was still holding. His eyes narrowed as he saw a Costa Rican boy (_Tico_, he reminded himself) the same age or a little older than Harry swim towards her, smiling. He said something to her, and she laughed, her eyes bright as she threw her head back. The boy turned towards the open ocean and all of the sudden noticed something in the distance. He pointed at it, motioning excitedly. Ginny shaded her eyes, but didn't seem to see what he was gesturing at. The boy moved her head slowly until it was facing the right direction, and Ginny bobbed in the water happily as she saw it. Harry shaded his own eyes until he saw it, a pod of dolphins leaping into the air. Usually, something like that would have made him brighten, but right now he wasn't in the mood.

_'Who does that boy think he is, touching her head like that when he barely even knows her?'' _Harry felt strangely inclined to agree. Pulling himself away from the scene so he could more easily resist the urge to run down and break the two of them up, he couldn't help but feel he was losing something important.

Then again, he reflected, it wasn't like he'd had her in the first place.

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**Chapter Two:**

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**Mary-v--Don't worry, no problemo. (o: Glad you like it.**

**Ami-Gryffindor89-- Thank you, it's not pathetic at all. (o: **

**Nightwing 509--Glad you enjoyed it! Hmm... the Percy thing will probably be resolved last chapter, k?**

**Miss Effie--I still love your reviews so so so much! I've done the italics again for you. (: **

**JamieBell--Thanks for your very helpful review! You're my html hero! (Oh gosh that sounded corny... ignore that comment). And you wrote a long review, too. (o; Sorry I confused you, though.**

**Melindaleo--yah, he annoys me pretty bad too... we'll see if I decide to redeem him or not... **

**HermioneGreen--Lovin' your reviews! And I'm _very _****happy you think it's realistic. That's up there in the top five compliments you can give me.**

**Coyote/spike--Thanks! Hope you still think so. (o: **

**Chapter Three:**

**padfootpuppyeyes--thanks for reviewing... you'll find out in good timeÉ. (tries to sound mysterious like JK and fails miserably)**

**MsMissProngs--Thanks, lol. (o: **

**JamieBell--I stuck with the italics, and updated the other chapters too. Thanks for your lovely review.**

**Why Me?--Thank you, hope this is okay. I love your enthusiasm, lol. Makes my day. **

**Me222--Yeah... I use that to get rid of most the weird symbols, but when I try doing anything else with it I just get confused. Oh well. O.o Glad you like the conscience, and I like your theory on it. He uses his good side so much it has to tell him to do bad. Now why didn't I think of that? Lol.**

**Koonelli--well, I found out later that I did have a couple other people on my favorites list, but I hadn't put anyone on there for a long loong time, so you should still feel proud. And you love it, too! (happy grin) And by the way, are you British? You sound like it in your reviews and stories, but I had to ask. (o: BTW, everyone check out her stories, she great one-shots. (o: **

**Ami-Gryffindor89--I'm still so so sorry about the beta mixup, hope you don't mind doing this one. (o: Sorry about the Jorge mistake. EDIT: Thanx for the great beta'ing on this chapter!!**

**Miss Effie--I'm sorry... The html pulls off the end quotation marks and hypens. I can fix it with quick edit, but I was in a hurry and I didn't get all of them. I'll try to do better with this one. (Does anyone else have a bazillion weird symbols in the editing box? Maybe it's just me, but they drive me nuts. O.o) I love your word, too. Can I use it? Awesomeosity. Way cool. All the chapters will be around 1,000-2,000 words this story, methinks.**

**Nightwing 509-- Thank you very much. I updated as fast as I could, but I might be a little slower now that I'm in volleyball camp all day.**

**Persephone's-Child--I already kinda answered your question, but just in case you didn't get the e-mail Horhay=Jorge. (o: And I'm liking your idea more and more, lol.**

**__**

**_A/N: I still need a beta for my Draco story! Help me out here people. (o; _**


	5. Give the Girl a Mango

Disclaimer: The Characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this fic are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. A/N: This chapter is not beta-read.

Harry glared at the two of them for a few more minutes before he stomped away. Stupid Costa Rican boys. Stupid dolphins. Stupid..." Harry trailed off as he tried to find more things to dislike.

_Two legged races, stupid bunk beds, stupid volleyball tournaments, stupid tree roots--_

'I don't quite see a connection with the tree root,' Harry said, nonplussed as he picked up his pace towards the forest.

_Don't worry. You'll get to _feel_ it in about 3,2...1_

Harry realized what his conscience was getting at the moment it was too late.

_Wham!_

Harry tripped and landed into the mud on the other side of the root in a faceplant so perfect it could have been in a cartoon. Dejectedly wiping some mud off his chin, he glared at his inner voice.

'Thanks for the warning, you... you... you..." unable to find a suitable name for the voice, he settled on one not quite offensive enough for his taste at the moment. 'Thing.'

The voice laughed in a decidedly evil way. 'I tried my best. By the way, if you want a name, you can call me Bond. _James _Bond,'' it said, voice shrilling and deadly serious.

Despite the situation, Harry couldn't help but laugh for a brief second. Perhaps it was the irony of it all; Harry Potter, who had defeated Voldemort four times, had broken countless bones in daring quidditch stunts, was now being driven insane by a high-pitched, squeaky little James Bond wannabee. Whatever the reason was, suddenly it all seemed funny. At least, for a second it did.

"You all good?" A 30-something woman with dark skin and black hair whom Harry recognized from the resort bent over him, looking concerned.

"Yeah," Harry said quickly, pulling himself up from the ground and brushing himself off. "I just tripped."

"I see. I'm Consuelo from Costa Rica, you're Harry Potter from England. I'm going on a walk, okay? You want to come, mmm?" She smiled kindly and indicated the path she was planning on taking.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back. I promised my friend I'd be in the volleyball tournament," Harry said hesitantly. For some reason he liked Consuelo. If nothing else she was straightforward.

"You want to go to this game?"

"Well, not really, I did promise though," Harry answered reluctantly. He'd never played volleyball in his life, and the thought had never been particularly endearing, but he doubted taking a walk through the jungle with someone he'd just met would be any better.

"It's all good. You'll go to round two tomorrow, okay? Besides, I need help picking my fruit. No fruit, no juice. You're helping your friends by helping me, okay? Okay."

Harry nodded dutifully. "Okay."

They set out through the rainforest, Harry trying to keep up with Consuelo, who moved like a cat over the bumpy ground. After what seemed like an eternity (in which Harry realized that sitting on a broom and occasionally reaching for a golden ball didn't actually keep you in shape, as some people mistakenly believed) they made it. The canopy of the forest had opened, revealing a fairly large grove of fruit trees. Consuelo was already picking, and she motioned him forward, her outstretched hand holding a burlap sack.

"You pick from these trees, okay? I need twelve starfruit, this big." She held out her hands to show him the size. "Then you can get me one bananas one bunch yellow. Okay? Okay."

Harry nodded and started picking the fruit, pulling each branch down and letting it spring back up. He had almost finished with the mangoes when Consuelo spoke.

"You're here with your friends, mmm?" Consuelo asked, pulling a small, green fruit from a branch.

"How'd you know?"

"You can tell. The hair. Besides, you weren't looking at the girl like familia, right?"

For some reason she hadn't made it sound like she was making fun of him, and Harry decided to trust her.

"Yeah, kind of." He muttered.

"Don't think about it. Nobody notices like me. Eyes like a bird," she said proudly.

"The thing is, now that I've realized that I, well, fancy her, I'm not sure what to do next." Harry extracted a ripe bunch of bananas from a stocky tree.

Consuelo pulled a two mangoes from a branch, started peeling one, and handed the other to Harry. He held it unsurely, not knowing what to do with it.

"Do you want me to put it in the bag?" He asked.

"No, no, no. You tell me you want to win the girl, so I help you, mmm? Give her the mango, okay? Okay."

"Why?" He looked at the fruit, which, even though it looked tasty enough, didn't exactly seem romantic.

"Trust me. A man I knew gave me a mango from this very tree, and look today. I marry him." She showed him a thin band of silver on her left ring finger.

"Are you quite sure it was the mango?"

"Aye. Yes, quite sure. Not all the way, but close enough. Either way, it's worth a try though, mmm?"

----

Harry lay in bed that night, wanting to sleep but afraid of dreaming. Hermione hadn't been as disappointed as he'd expected about him missing the volleyball tournament; in fact, she'd been in a rather chipper mood ever since he'd gotten back. He wasn't positive, but he could guess from Ron's glowing cheeks what it was about. Just as he started thinking about them, Ginny and Hermione stepped inside (they'd been sitting on the hammocks), both of them talking a mile a minute. Harry shut his eyes as soon as they approached and pretended to be sleeping as Hermione glanced from Ron to him skeptically.

"Are they asleep?" Ginny asked, a bit more quietly. Hermione laughed.

"Yes, I think so. Well, you can tell Ron is, with that snoring, I was just making sure Harry didn't have his glasses on. It's a dead giveaway, you know."

Harry made a mental note, grateful he'd taken them off last minute before they came in.

They two of them sat on Hermione's bed. Ginny grabbed a flashlight from the table and turned it on.

"Okay, so tell me exactly what Johann said," Hermione whispered. Harry's fingers silently slid along the ledge next to his bed until they located his glasses. Pretending to turn in his sleep, he slipped them on the bridge of his nose and watched them from the corner of his eye.

Ginny gave a secretive grin. "Well, after the volleyball game he came up to me and told me I played very well. We talked for a few minutes, and he asked me if I'd been to any waterfalls in Costa Rica yet. I told him no, and he offered to take me to one that hardly anyone except a few locals knew how to find. It sounds really beautiful. He's taking me early tomorrow." She giggled happily. Harry dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands.

"And your Mum's okay with this?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"Yep. Turns out she'd spent quite a while talking to the manager that morning, who happens to be Johann's father. I guess he told mum all about how Johann knows the rainforest by heart or something, because she hardly hesitated in letting me go... I was sure I was going to have to sneak out and everything."

"But you do fancy him?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly off-put for some reason.

"Wait one minute, I think I saw Ron twitch. Let's talk under the covers, okay? Besides, I don't think you want him hearing when you tell me what happened today when you two went down to get the sandwiches and didn't return for fifteen minutes."

"Shhh!" Hermione said, but she was grinning. Harry heard no more as they disappeared under the blanket. He was quite sure he didn't want to, anyway. Especially the part about whether she fancied him or not. Feeling more disheartened and jealous than he had felt any other time that day, he removed his glasses again and closed his eyes. On the windowsill in the corner, the mango he had neglected to give to Ginny rolled off and fell to the ground with a soft thump. A last thought flitted through his mind before he drifted off to a restless sleep. Perhaps he couldn't stop the two of them from going, but maybe, just maybe, he could watch and make sure this Johann kept his hands firmly to himself.

A/N: Can you guess what's coming next? That's right, Chapter Six: Secret Agent Harry Potter. Thanks for waiting, please tell me if you think this chapter was too dull, and now I'm deep enough into the story that you can even tell me if you think I'm 'meandering aimlessly'', though I can still hope you won't. (o:

And, as always, can you please, please, please give me feedback? I know it's a lot to ask, but if I could have 50 reviews by the end of this story it would mean the world to me-- they don't even have to be good reviews either. If you think I'm a hopeless case and should give up writing before I humiliate myself further, tell me! (I think so myself sometimes, lol) So, even if you usually stay a lurker, could you come out of the darkness and give me your (however brutally honest) thoughts? Thank you!

--

_Pronunciation:_

Johann= Yo-hawn 

_Consuelo= Con-sway-lo_

**--**

**Reviewers:**

**VoicezWithin: I love your username sooo much! Sorry, had to say that. (o: I'm so glad you think it rocks, and I apologize for making you wait so long. Also, thank you for writing your review in caps. Makes me happy. (o: **

**ilovesmiles=): Aww, you love it? Thanx. I'm glad everyone likes the conscience; it's actually quite challenging for me to write, which is why you only see him appear once or twice each chapter. Keep the reviews coming and I'll keep the chapters coming!**

**authenticpoppy: Thanks very much. Although he's not having much fun at the moment, is he? Oh well. I promise I'll be nice eventually. O.o Thanks for the tip as well, but I decided the Draco story wasn't happening. )o:**

**JamieBell: I always look forward to your wonderful reviews. Ouch! I'm sorry about your wisdom teeth; I haven't had mine pulled, but my friend had hers and she was in misery. I'm glad you like the Weasleys-- your opinion means a lot. (o;**

**MsMissProngs: Thanx, I'm trying but I've been gone for a month. After I get back from yet another camp they should be posted fairly quickly. **

**HGfics: I'm very happy you think it has potential, and the characterization comment was very high up in the best you could give, as I think I've mentioned before. I hope you continue reading. **

** Illusions Industry: Another creative username, I luff it. (o: I'm happy...glad... (need to think of a new word here) _Joyous_**** that you think its cool, lol. **

**Ami-ImaTomLOVER: Thanks again for the great beta-ing, hope you'll still do the chapter after this one! Lol, Deja Vu, eh? Wonder why, lol.**

**Persephone's-Child: Yes, he does doesn't he? Well, he does have quite a temper in the books. Wisps off fluff ought to be appearing in a couple chapters, I hope you wait to see it! (o; **

**Miss Effie: I'm glad I met your approval! You're another one who I love to hear reviews from (actually, I love getting reviews from anyone, but you know what I mean. (o;). You are very welcome for the italics. Boy-o. giggles**

**Koonelli: Your review also made me laugh out loud--no offense to the British language, of course. (o; Feel free to give me tips on the lingo. And I'm from the States, a Montanan, though I'm Californian at heart. On to your 'ridiculously more important'' questions, lol. Tico isn't the boy's name, it's actually just Costa Rican for a native of the country. (Tico is boy/male, Tica is girl/female). And for your second question, where was I? In Costa Rica of course! (o: It was really amazing, other then one little problem which I'm not going to get into because it would probably end up being as long as the chapter. (o: Anyway, thanks again for your bloody brilliant review! (Yes, that was my feeble attempt at Briticism). Oh, and congrats again on your wonderful wonderful new sad Lily/James fic, I can't get over how good it is. **


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